Bhubaneswar: While heavy rainfall had been lashing most parts of Odisha for three days since July 14 under the influence of a low pressure, another low pressure is likely to develop over the north-west Bay of Bengal in the next 48 hours.
“A cyclonic circulation likely to form over the north-west Bay of Bengal within the next 24 hours and there is a high probability of it developing into a low pressure on July 20,” Dr Sarat Chandra Sahu, Director, Centre for Environment and Climate (CEC) at the SOA (Deemed to be University) and former Director of Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, on Wednesday.
He said under its influence, heavy rainfall would occur in most parts of the coastal districts and also in Gajapati, Rayagada and Kandhamal districts in South Odisha between July 19 21 while heavy to very heavy rainfall would also occur in the north and western Odisha districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Deogarh, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Subarnapur and Boudh as also the adjoining areas of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh between July 21 and 23.
Apart from this, the districts of Jajpur, Kendrapara, Angul and Dhenkanal will also experience heavy rainfall during the period, he added.
Sahu further said that the system is most likely concentrate into a depression on July 22. As a result, heavy precipitation is likely in the upper and lower catchments of the Mahanadi while heavy to very heavy rainfall could occur in the Brahmani, Baitarani, Subarnarekha and Budhabalanga river catchments between July 21 and 23.
He also said that the intensity of the low pressure would be high as the lower level wind speed is likely to increase up to 40 kmph, more than the upper level wind speed, from July 20.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, in a release on Wednesday has advised the local fishermen not to venture into the deep sea as the condition of the sea would be rough during the period. It has also advised the fishermen, who have gone for deep sea fishing, to return to the coast at the earliest.
